Chuck Leavell is caught somewhere between rock and a home place. For almost 25 years Leavell has been the man behind the keyboard for the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world, the Rolling Stones.

But since his musical journey took off with the Allman Brothers Band in the early 1970s, eventually leading to a comfortable gig on stage and in the studio with the Stones, Leavell has led a double life -- a spectactular life he and author Jeff Craig have captured in a 355-page autobiography, Between Rock and a Home Place, already in its second printing.

"It (the title) perfectly describes my two lives," said Leavell from his Macon, Ga., home recently. "I've had a very fun, interesting and colourful life."

But life on the other side of Leavell's successful music career that has landed him on stage with Eric Clapton and George Harrison, has also been greener.

Aside from an incredibly successful music career Leavell and his wife of 32 years, Rose Lane, tend to a 2,200-acre tree farm and gaming reserve, Charlane.

Tending to the greener side of life didn't come easy.

"It was a big learning curve for me," said Leavell, who, while on the road several years back, took a year-long correspondence course on land management. "The more I read, learned and studied the more fascinated I was with these issues and how important it is to treat our land properly."

Between tending to the land and touring, an idea for a book popped into Leavell's head. So he decided to publish snippets of 25 years' worth of diary entries from his life with the Allmans to life on the road with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Being a highly sought-after musician, Leavell didn't consider himself a writer.

Along comes Jeff Craig. Craig, an original member of the Ottawa Sun staff and former entertainment editor at the Edmonton Sun, met Leavell 11 years ago. They hit it off and Leavell knew Craig was the person to help organize and structure his thoughts in the form of a book.

"I wanted a well-written book and a story that people would enjoy," said Leavell. "The story's mine, but Jeff helped me and sorted out an interesting way to present it."

And because touring with the Stones has played a big part in Leavell's life, Craig hit the road with the band during their 40 Licks Tour in 2003 after convincing his friend that it was time to write the book.

"He's a rarity," said Craig, who now calls Los Angeles home and also wrote the biography of Animals frontman Eric Burdon.

"I can't think of very many musicians who have played with so many diverse people and recorded with so many diverse people. He has a great story to tell."